FDI in telecomPragmatism has won, rightly
THE
bonhomie witnessed in the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting on
Tuesday reflects the realisation on both sides that they can't do
without each other. The UPA does not enjoy majority on its own in
Parliament and the Left has no other alternative but to support the
UPA government.

It
amounts to censorshipDD has faulted in blocking JP
film
Although
the government has tried
to wash its hands off the controversy over the decision of Doordarshan
to withdraw a film on Jayaprakash Narayan which was to be telecast on
his birthday on Monday, doubts linger. The Opposition is not the only
one accusing the government of being partisan and biased.

Human
ritesAn international award for
Jayalalithaa
Even
as everyone was preoccupied with who got which Nobel Prize for
what, and some rued that Indians are nowhere in the reckoning for
worthy international recognition, our very own Amma - the
'Revolutionary Leader' Dr J Jayalalithaa - has been conferred the
Golden Star of Honour and Dignity Award by no less important an
organisation than the International Human Rights Defence Committee, a
chartered consultative body of the United Nations with headquarters in
Ukraine.

A tale of three
electionsAfghanistan, Australia and
Indonesiaby Inder Malhotra
ALL
eyes and ears are, of course, fixed on the mother of all elections,
the one between the US President, Mr George Bush, and his Democratic
challenger, Mr John Kerry, scheduled for November 2. But this in no
way detracts from the great significance of three polls that three
other countries have just held.

Batch of ’89by Parag Jain
TIME
has mellowed not only the visages but also responses and attitudes.
The boisterous — almost animal — catcalls and yelling of
yesteryears have given way to a more sober though still warm back
slapping. Greying hair and fast receding hairlines and worry lines of
the face reveal a story of time and age fast catching up and
vanquishing all beliefs of our invincibility.

SAARC Writers
ConferenceA spark that has become a
movementby Nirupama Dutt
The
focus of this literary meet was on that irregular triangle that
forms the central peninsula of Southern Asia. Here nestle the seven
sibling countries in close togetherness yet with a distinct cultural
identity. India, and its close neighbours, a bird’s flight away:
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

From
PakistanNawaz for fight
against army rule
LAHORE:
Terming Oct 12 a black day in history, PML-N chief
Mian Nawaz Sharif has urged all political democratic forces to launch
a decisive struggle against Army rule. In his message, read out to
reporters by Zaeem Husain Qadri here on Tuesday, to all democratic
forces and people at large in connection with the Oct 12, 1999, army
takeover, Mr Sharif urged all political parties to work for getting
rid of the 17th Amendment.

THE bonhomie witnessed in the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting on Tuesday reflects the realisation on both sides that they can't do without each other. The UPA does not enjoy majority on its own in Parliament and the Left has no other alternative but to support the UPA government. The success of the UPA government is, therefore, linked to how they reconcile their differences on a host of economic and political issues. Tuesday's meeting was more in the nature of the government taking the Left into its confidence on the handling of the situation in the Northeast and the policy on foreign direct investment in the telecom sector. The Left has been opposed to further opening up of telecom.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has a way with facts and figures and he used it with telling effect when he scotched the fears of the Left on the FDI score. He argued that the country would have to encourage FDI if the growth rate in the telecom sector is to be maintained. Despite all the exponential growth in the number of landline and mobile connections since reforms in this sector were introduced, only 20 per cent of the population is still covered by the networks. To achieve a network coverage of 70 per cent, an investment to the tune of Rs 1,60,000 crore is required which the country cannot raise internally. In other words, the desired expansion in the telecom sector hinges on how best India attracts FDI. So, it is imperative to liberalise rules to encourage FDI.

Mr Chidambaram has argued against following the Chinese model - first invest in domestic telecom companies and then force global telecom giants to enter into collaborations with them - because it is against the grain of India's growth strategy based on the service sector and the BPO model. As the leading role the American giant AT&T plays in the Chinese telecom sector shows, the Chinese are not a prisoner of any particular growth strategy. They are pragmatic enough to change the strategy even on a case-to-case basis. Small wonder that the latest AT Kearney's FDI confidence index for 2004 shows that China has maintained its top ranking as the most attractive destination while India has creditably moved up to the third position. Having set ambitious FDI targets, India cannot afford to go slow on liberalisation.

Although
the government has tried to wash its hands off the controversy over the decision of Doordarshan to withdraw a film on Jayaprakash Narayan which was to be telecast on his birthday on Monday, doubts linger. The Opposition is not the only one accusing the government of being partisan and biased. The Congress has a record of being less than fair in such matters, considering that similar crude attempts have been made in the past to scuttle “Aandhi” and “Aaj Ka MLA”. Prasar Bharati CEO K.S. Sarma has even justified the decision not to show the film on the ground that its treatment of the Emergency was not “balanced”. That gives the game away. How autonomous Prasar Bharati happens to be is known to everybody. Apparently, it has either got its orders from the high-ups or knows how to please the political bosses. So, it has played it safe by refusing to telecast the film. What it does not seem to realise is that such kneejerk reaction amounts to censorship, which happened to be a hallmark of the Emergency days.

Prakash Jha’s film on JP was commissioned by the previous government. It was jointly sponsored by the Ministries of Culture and Information and Broadcasting. The portrayal of JP’s role in the resistance against the Emergency is indeed central to the film, as former I and B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has pointed out. Trying to excise these portions does no credit to the current dispensation.

What must be borne in mind is that speaking openly about an event happens to be the best catharsis. Take Gulzar’s film “Maachis” for example. It freely mentioned the excesses committed by the police during the terrorism days in Punjab. There was a hue and cry by a certain section but it was rightly ignored. The film went on to win many awards. It did not cause any social upheaval either. In a democratic setup, everyone needs to be given certain leeway, artistes all the more so — and also the people who enjoy the Right to Know.

Even as everyone was preoccupied with who got which Nobel Prize for what, and some rued that Indians are nowhere in the reckoning for worthy international recognition, our very own Amma - the 'Revolutionary Leader' Dr J Jayalalithaa - has been conferred the Golden Star of Honour and Dignity Award by no less important an organisation than the International Human Rights Defence Committee, a chartered consultative body of the United Nations with headquarters in Ukraine. Tamil Nadu has had some great chief ministers, such as C Rajagopalachari, K Kamaraj and C N Annadurai — each of a different political persuasion — followed by a notable scriptwriter (Mr M Karunanidhi) and a famous actor (MGR). But none of them attained such heights as the present Chief Minister. For those who may be inclined to belittle the award and its latest recipient, it should be pointed out that earlier recipients of the honour were no less distinguished. They included United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iceland Prime Minister David Austen. Ms Jayalalithaa is certainly in very good company, though it is a different matter how Mr Annan and Mr Putin may feel about it.

Only the naïve and the cynical would deride the award out of a graceless refusal to see how deserving Ms Jayalalithaa is of such an honour. After all, few have done more for human rights in this country than this gentle lady from Tamil Nadu. She was the first to invoke POTA and slam Mr Vaiko of the MDMK behind bars. A small step against one human being was a giant leap for the cause of human rights. Had it not been for Ms Jayalalithaa's resort to POTA, few in the country would have realised how draconian the law was.

Her AIADMK administration's use of POTA created unprecedented countrywide awareness of the uses and abuses of the law. But for her, there would have been no educative experience to enlighten the nation on the need to do away with POTA. Let thanks, and recognition, be given where it is due.

A tale of three elections
Afghanistan, Australia and Indonesiaby Inder Malhotra

ALL eyes and ears are, of course, fixed on the mother of all elections, the one between the US President, Mr George Bush, and his Democratic challenger, Mr John Kerry, scheduled for November 2. But this in no way detracts from the great significance of three polls that three other countries have just held.

Of these, unquestionably the most important is the poll in Afghanistan, a country that has never before had a democratic poll of any kind. The close second in importance is the long-drawn-out presidential election in Indonesia that has earned enviable credibility as the first free and fair democratic exercise in 29 years. By contrast, the general election in Australia was routine, its only distinctive feature being the re-election, for the fourth time running of that country’s Prime Minister, Mr John Howard.

There is, however, one more point about the outcome of the Australian poll. Like his British counterpart, Mr Tony Blair, Mr Howard is a staunch supporter of Mr Bush’s war in Iraq. Despite sharp dissent in his country on this subject, he made the continuance of Australian troops in Iraq an election issue and has won his point. No wonder, the US President is thrilled and has applauded his friend’s “spectacular success”.

It is a pity that most people in this country have remained indifferent to, if not ignorant of, the remarkably successful election in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world and a close neighbour of India’s. Not many Indians know that Indonesia’s northernmost tip is only 89 nautical miles away from the Indian offshore islands of the Andamans and Nicobar. Moreover, geo-strategy apart, Indonesia is vital also to our Look East policy. As the largest member of ASEAN, Indonesia’s importance to both our economic relations with this fast-growing regional grouping and our membership of its security offshoot, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ought to be obvious.

All this makes Indonesia’s return to the democratic path, after more than a quarter century of General Suharto’s military dictatorship, greatly welcome. However, one has to wait and watch whether the newly elected Indonesian President, also a former General, Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, can overcome his formidable problems and consolidate fledgling democratic institutions. He is up against a separatist movement in Aceh, deep-seated misgovernance and corruption so rampant as to put into shade what goes on in India and Pakistan in the department of graft.

Another major problem he faces is that in a parliament of 500 his party has only 90 members. He has therefore to seek cooperation of the outgoing President, Ms Meghawati Sukarnoputri, in whose Cabinet he had served as security minister. Her party, together with that behind by Suharto and now run by former military leaders, commands a clear majority in the House. This should explain the great courtesy he showed her. Although the Election Commission declared him elected some weeks ago, he did not claim victory until Ms Sukarnoputri, taking her time conceded defeat.

Uncertainties in Indonesia pale into utter insignificance, compared with what lies ahead in Afghanistan, notwithstanding the fact that the very act of holding an election in that country is a historic landmark.

No one has any doubt that Mr Karzai, fully supported by America, the most powerful actor on the Afghan stage, would be the winner with an overwhelming majority. The key question would then be whether he would be able to establish any kind of legitimacy and credibility. The answer to this is also simple. The United Nations-sponsored electoral authority has already declared that the irregularities about the use of wrong ink (instead of the one supplied by India) were few and therefore there was no question of either stopping the electoral process or declaring it null and void.

On the contrary, all supporters of Mr Karzai are crowing over the huge turnout of voters, including a fairly large number of women. There is great jubilation also over the fact that despite ominous threats by the Taliban, the election went through peacefully and smoothly. This does not mean that the Taliban that have recently regrouped themselves and mounted sharp attacks on the Karzai government have suddenly become toothless. What seems to have happened is that Washington had mounted relentless pressure on Pakistan to ensure that the Taliban did not mess around with voting.

For President Bush the holding of “successful” elections in Afghanistan is of the greatest importance, next only to the capture of Osama bin Laden. He is going to use the “marvellous poll” as an instrument of spreading democracy to the land of Afghans as a powerful card in the bitterly fought US presidential election.

It follows, therefore, that the US and its allies would pull out all stops in order to establish and strengthen Mr Karzai’s post-poll position. Various Afghan warlords who are opposed to him would surely try equally hard to undermine him. They have so far managed to ensure that his writ does not run outside Kabul. Even during the election campaign, the interim President was unable to land in several places because of fusillade of gunfire on his helicopter.

However, those knowledgeable about the Afghan scene know that guns are not the only means of winning tribal wars. There is also gold that proves to be a greater persuader. All through the anti-Soviet war and during the subsequent internecine civil war, warlords and tribal chiefs were happy to be bought as long as the price was right. This did not, of course, prevent changing of sides yet again.

India, of course, has no problem with Mr Karzai, who was born in this country, was educated at Shimla and has been friendly to India despite rival pressures on him, especially by Pakistan that at one time wanted the size of our consulates in Jalalabad and Kamdhar reduced.

The one thing this country wouldn’t want
Mr Karzai and his mentors to do is to include any section of the Taliban in the future Afghan government.

TIME has mellowed not only the visages but also responses and attitudes. The boisterous — almost animal — catcalls and yelling of yesteryears have given way to a more sober though still warm back slapping. Greying hair and fast receding hairlines and worry lines of the face reveal a story of time and age fast catching up and vanquishing all beliefs of our invincibility. Fifteen years through the rough and tumble, valuable experience in facing the heat in various situations across the country each one of us has developed a maturity and an insight beyond our years.

The occasion for these reflective musings was provided by the recent Batch Reunion after fifteen years of service at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad. A Batch which trains together stays together amply illustrates the bonhomie generated when we recollected our individual mechanisms to deal with the rigours of training, whether it was the faking of knee injury to avoid the crosscountry or coming up with rare and ingenuous excuses about vertigo in order to seek deliverance from rock climbing. Such light-hearted banter ignited instantly even though we were meeting after 15 long years and certain KTPs (Keen Type Probationers) were still a subject of amusement. We laughed at how on the firing range washout at your own targets but hitting bulls’ eye at your neighbours targets used to astound the ustads no end. The hospital was the favourite meeting point for all makras (laggards) and the doctor was the best friend. Class rooms were meant to catch up on your sleep.

Terrorism, militancy, insurgency, extremism are not mere words nor newspaper headlines for us but actual field realities often in situations where a mere whisker has often separated life and death. But Ved Prakash’s luck had run out. I remember how his face had lit up the first time he had donned the uniform in the Academy. Perhaps it was too early to realise that the glamour demanded its pound of flesh. It entailed a lot of responsibility and challenge often beyond the call of one’s duty. In Nagaland he laid down his life upholding the highest traditions of the police service making his supreme sacrifice to keep the country together. A brilliant life cut short.

This was the first occasion for the Batch to remember him collectively. We remembered how numbed each one of us was when news about Ved broke out on television and were then making frantic calls to batchmates as if in hope that we had heard it all wrong. Our hearts went out for his family.

Any endeavour to help his family and perpetuate his memory had to be done with dignity was the uniform chorus. Volleyball was the passion of Ved. A running trophy was presented by our batch in his memory to be given to the best volleyball team of IPS probationers every year.

Fifteen years in the police has taught all of us to keep doing our jobs to the best of our abilities despite constraints, to maintain equilibrium in the face of adversity and to find satisfaction in being able to make a difference however insignificant and not to lose trust in the basic goodness of man. Most importantly it has taught us to see a flicker of hope and light where none exists and carry
on.

SAARC Writers ConferenceA spark that has become a movementby Nirupama Dutt

Selina Hosain

The focus of this literary meet was on that irregular triangle that forms the central peninsula of Southern Asia. Here nestle the seven sibling countries in close togetherness yet with a distinct cultural identity. India, and its close neighbours, a bird’s flight away: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Out in the seas is the pearl-shaped Sri Lanka, and specs of the Maldives islands sparkling brightly in the sea like freshly fallen diamond chips.

The 11th SAARC Writers Conference held in New Delhi in the second week of October focused on the diversities as well as the commonalities in the rich cultural tapestry of this region.

The first conference was held in April 2000. That literary initiative has taken the shape of a literary movement encouraging a South-South dialogue and calling for peace in this region. Ali Shareef, the lone writer from the Maldives who was a delegate to the conference, says: “Small countries like mine have much to learn from the rich heritage of their larger neighbours.

It was thrilling for us that a conference was held in our country. Writers and intellectuals from all over the region saw the beauty of our tiny islands. We eagerly wait to host the next conference there.”

Ajeet Cour, well-known Punjabi writer who heads the SAARC Foundation, says: “It is time that closer linkages are forged between countries of the South Asian region. The big bullies of the world cannot dictate our destinies because we writers will keep raising our voice against a world being constantly terrorised and increasingly globalised. We writers believe that those parts of history that are painful should be forgotten, forgiven and reconciled because life has to go on, acquiring harmonious dimensions and expanding vision.”

The SAARC Foundation spearheaded by Ajeet, has held 11 SAARC conferences in all SAARC countries and National Centres have been set up in six neighbouring countries. Other initiatives have included regional conferences, workshops, writers-in-residence programmes, publications, awards and youth-reach programmes.

Celebrated fiction writer of Kannada, U.R. Ananthamurthy, who was in the Capital to participate in the conference says: “It is a matter of joy that neighbouring countries are being brought together by forging strong literary links. Writers of this region have always been looking up to the West but there is much that we can gain from our own cultures.

In fact, the West turns to Asia so why should the Asian countries not gain from one another? The secret lies in appreciating the otherness of the other.”

Civilisations have survived through their plurality by ensuring and sustaining the difference of views and visions, lifestyles and customs And at the same time creating fresh ideas in togetherness.

The well-known fiction writer of Bangladesh, Selina Hosain, says: “I was a child at the time of the Partition and then witness to the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war and the 1971 war of liberation of Bangladesh. War and strife have brought much misery to the region. It is essential that all the neighbouring countries live in peace and harmony. Writers as peace activists have a very important role to play in safeguarding peace in this region.”

Ahmad Faraz, the famous Urdu poet of Pakistan whose poetry has many admirers in India, says, “Writers have always stood for peace and harmony. They represent the feelings of the common people. The politics of the times has been wrong and we must put it right.”

Many years ago when Faraz visited India even though the relationship between the two countries was strained yet his poem had echoed the sentiments that he now expresses: “Friends! I have come to your country this time/ Not to meet any music company, Nor either to recite my poetry/ If it is a question of your ego/I extend my hand in friendship first.”

It was this spirit of bonhomie and goodwill that was visible throughout the conference. Kapila G.A. Goonasekre, Vice-Chancellor of Paradeniya University, Sri Lanka, says “This movement of literature in South Asia is remarkable and it should be followed up well with academic activity and translation projects because of the multilingual nature of this region. Even within a country several languages and many more dialects are spoken. We are hoping to host the next conference next year in Sri Lanka.”

There are happy tidings for writers and students of literature in Punjab. Ajeet says: “In winter we are planning to travel through Punjab with a group senior as well as young writers of Pakistan holding conferences at Punjabi University, Patiala, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.”

Joining the mood of sharing, one crosses one’s fingers and says that may these bonds being forged by the written word and writers flourish now and ever.

LAHORE: Terming Oct 12 a black day in history, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has urged all political democratic forces to launch a decisive struggle against Army rule.

In his message, read out to reporters by Zaeem Husain Qadri here on Tuesday, to all democratic forces and people at large in connection with the Oct 12, 1999, army takeover, Mr Sharif urged all political parties to work for getting rid of the 17th Amendment.

He said military rule was harmful both to democracy and the Army. He recalled that Pakistan was dismembered during one such regime in 1971. Mr Sharif alleged that the presidential system was being implemented in the country after destroying the parliamentary structure outlined in the 1973 Constitution.

He said no other country in the world had army chief as president or prime minister, but in Pakistan one person was holding offices of Army Chief and President simultaneously.
— The Dawn

Indian wheat for Balochistan

QUETTA: Balochistan will purchase wheat from Australia, India and Bangladesh and a delegation headed by Provincial Food Minister Maulana Noor Mohammad will soon visit these countries in this regard.

The minister said during a meeting on Monday: “There will be no shortage of flour in the province during Ramazan.” The provincial food department had arranged 300,000 tonnes of wheat to meet the requirement during Ramazan. Punjab was providing 200,000 tonnes of wheat for Balochistan, which would reach the provincial capital in three days. The minister said the food department had 60,000 tonnes of wheat in its stock and it was enough for about six weeks.

The minister said he would visit Australia, India and Bangladesh next month for purchasing wheat for fulfilling the requirement of Balochistan.
— The Dawn

“Don’t glorify terrorism”

PESHAWAR: The Inter-Provincial Conference of Information Ministers on Tuesday urged the national media to refrain from glorifying terrorists and acts of terrorism through undue projection.

Chaired by the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, the conference noted with concern the recent trend in the media to project and portray terrorists and acts of terrorism in a glorifying manner rather than condemning it.

The conference drew the attention of the national media to the provision of the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001, which clearly states that “a person commits an offence if he prints, publishes or disseminates a material whether by audio or video cassettes or by written, photographic, electronic, digital, wall chalking or any other method and which incites religious, sectarian or ethnic hatred or gives projection to any person convicted for a terrorist act, or any person or organisation linked with terrorism or any organisation placed under observation. Provided that a factual news report, made in good faith, shall not be construed to mean projection for the purposes of this section.”

The conference particularly took strong exception to attempts by certain private electronic media networks to glorify terrorists and criminals and showing of kidnappers’ interviews on television, including the kidnappers of Chinese engineers.
— The News